When I saw the trailer for "Hellboy," I was baffled that another comic book-inspired film was coming to theaters. I thought the movie would be childish and lame. Honestly, I stand corrected. Hellboy is more than a comic book character -- he becomes a creature that we are drawn to and pull for more than the movie's trailer would have you believe.
Guillermo del Toro's last release, "Blade II," was a mediocre, high-voltage action flick offering top-notch special effects and heart-pumping fight sequences. Now del Toro provides us with a comic book-derived film, which tells the story of a demon that crosses over into the human world as an infant and is raised to become the protector of mankind from evil forces.
Ron Perlman, who landed the lead role as Hellboy, creates a seriously badass character -- one that you are also drawn to, sympathize with and root for.
That is not to say the character he plays is not another run-of-the-mill comic book hero on paper. He is exactly that, with his longing to fit in, love for an unattainably beautiful woman and desire for a more fortunate appearance. But Perlman plays the role so effortlessly and interestingly that we learn to love Hellboy. He nails the one-liner style only Schwarzenegger has been able to pull of in the past, while giving the character real emotion and depth.
One aspect of the film that caught me off guard was the violence. Although there is very little blood pouring from the bodies of the sliced, diced and crushed, the way the characters, monster and human, are killed and mangled is rather graphic for a PG-13 film.
That aside, the film's villains are super sweet. In the opening scene, set during World War II, the Nazis, with obviously evil intentions, conjure up Hellboy from another dimension by opening a portal from Hellboy's home to Earth. Watching over the procedure is a heavily armored Nazi, wearing a gas mask and wielding two knives that would make Ginsu proud. He becomes, hands down, the slickest villain of the movie.
Just as in "Blade II," the action in "Hellboy" is hot. It uses ridiculously good special effects and produces some great fight sequences that look both beautiful and new. The film's plot is virtually non-existent, but the movie wasn't created with the intention of being deep. The film is simple, fun entertainment --nothing more, nothing less.
Now for "Hellboy's" low point. The beauty of the film is Selma Blair. The only problem: that's all she is. This is the third time I've finished one of her movies (previously "Cruel Intentions" and "The Sweetest Thing") and asked the gods how the hell she keeps getting work. She is terrible. Even though her dark, fire-throwing character Liz Sherman could have been amazing, Blair just runs through the motions like she always does. Doing it next to Perlman's provocative performance just makes her abysmal -- her "performance" simply does not cut it.
Fortunately for "Hellboy," the film's many other strengths overshadow Blair's poor performance. The film doesn't take itself too seriously, and it doesn't try to get too intelligent, which, in and of itself, is intelligent. The film is repeatedly funny and sharp, and it moves from one great action sequence to another.
This movie captures what is so cool about comic books and translates it to the big screen -- and it does so better than 99 percent of its genre's predecessors have. Over-the-top villains, gritty fighting and a unique hero with a chip on his shoulder all add up to success.
Del Toro's committed direction and Perlman's inspired acting not only save the film -- they give it maturity, feeling and meaning. It is deep and has a soul bigger than its lead character.
Unfortunately, this film will be overlooked by many people because of movies like "Daredevil" ruining the field, which is truly a shame. These people are not going to get to see that "Hellboy" is actually one hell of a good flick.
Read More
The best albums of 2014
By Noah Zeidman | December 4, 2014Across genres, it has been a pretty great year in music.
Top 10 movies of 2014
December 4, 2014This has been an excellent year for film, offering everything from gripping blockbusters to innovative personal films.
Iggy Azalea is “Reclassified”
December 4, 2014It has become common practice among music artists to repackage their albums in an effort to simultaneously boost single sales and dish out new content by slightly renaming the album or slapping “Deluxe” onto the title.
